Our demand response programme

What is demand response?

Demand response allows electricity consumers to respond to a signal from an organisation, like Transpower, to reduce their electricity demand for a period of time in exchange for a payment.

It’s a win-win situation where consumers get compensated for their involvement and see lower charges long term, while helping Transpower manage demand on the grid.

To learn more about demand response and what our participants have to say, check out our introductory video:

How it works

We give you several hours of advanced notice of an upcoming event via our demand response mobile app, and together we come to an agreed price and a kW amount you can respond with for the event. Once agreed, it's over to you how you reduce your demand in a few hours’ time. This could be by:

using standby generators

turning off some of your load

using batteries or other alternative energy sources.

It’s all rather simple and it’s completely up to you if you want to participate in an event or not. There’s no obligation to accept an event offer from us, it’s only a missed opportunity.

Sharing our stories

Over the last few years we have had a range of different organisations join our Demand Response programme. We went visiting and asked a few of our participants to share their experience, which we thought might provide inspiration for those interested in joining.

Timaru District Council’s Drainage and Water Department participates in the programme, using back-up generators to cover its electricity needs during demand response events. Grant Hall, Timaru District Council’s Drainage and Water Manager, has found that the programme not only increases revenue but has also helped his team find ways to use their generator to help manage their own energy use.